Happy Sunday, dear friends! I’m happy to introduce a new format: book of the month.
As a huge lover of picture books, I think this is an interesting way to talk about artists, in addition to the biweekly interviews. So each month I’ll pick a book from my personal library and record a little flip through. I will also write a few words about the artist and my personal thoughts.
I hope you will like this idea. And I’m waiting for your precious feedback! :)
Frédéric Pillot is a French illustrator and cartoonist. After graduating from the School of Decorative Arts of Strasbourg in 1990, he began his career drawing historical comics, such as 'Tambow’. He soon put an end to it, preferring to concentrate on children's book illustration. In 30 years he has illustrated dozens of titles that have been translated worldwide. These include the famous Lulu Vroumette, Balbuzar and Le Petit Poucet.
His art style is meticulous, rich in detail and intriguing points of view.
Le Petit Poucet is a revisitation of Charles Perrault's dreadful fairy tale: 7 brothers abandoned in the woods by their parents, saved by the ingenuity of the youngest among them.
The first thing that impresses is the contrast. The tiny (the brothers, the birds) versus the huge (the ogre, the trees). There are so many details and textures, but the shapes are bold and clear.
You definitely know who the villain is. And what action he is about to take.
Flipping through this book is like watching a good animated film. Intense emotions are outlined by strong lights and shadows and drastic perspective points. You can truly sense the tension and mystery!
Even the paper size, 28 x 36 cm, accentuates the grandeur of the compositions and the mastery of the painting technique. You may be surprised to know that Frédéric's preferred medium is acrylic paint, enriched with chalk.
I would like to know more about his painting technique and how he achieves such uniform gradients and amazing color palettes. All I know is that it can take more than 10 days to paint one of his drawings!
I hope he will join me soon for an interview :)
COMING SOON on artist interviews:
The art of Maggie Chiang
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